Russia Calls For Tougher Arctic Security

Russia and other Arctic littoral states should boost security on their Arctic frontiers, as rapid ice loss is making the region accessible to maritime traffic.

Russia Calls For Tougher Arctic Security

TROMSO, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia and other Arctic littoral states should boost security on their Arctic frontiers, as rapid pack-ice loss is making the region more accessible to maritime traffic, a Russian security official said on Monday.

According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, in late 2012 the area covered by Arctic ice shrank to its lowest since 1979. The average area of Arctic sea ice for December 2012 was 12.20 million square km, the second-lowest ever recorded by satellite.

“Climate change has increased the transport accessibility of the Arctic region. However, growing maritime traffic is likely to bring about more attempts at smuggling, illegal migration, drug trafficking… and other types of organized crime,” Yevgeny Lukyanov, a deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, said at an international Arctic states conference in Norway’s Tromso.

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Source: Ria Novosti.